News

Missouri Supreme Court Rejects Same-Sex Survivor Benefits

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled the state's Department of Transportation did not engage in sexual orientation discrimination when it denied survivor benefits to the same-sex partner of a state trooper killed in the line of duty. Glossip v....

CFPB Files Brief In Long-Running RESPA Case

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

On October 30, the CFPB filed an amicus brief in Edwards v. First American, a long-running case concerning the anti-kickback provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) that is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for...

Supreme Court Certifies Price-Fixing Class Actions Brought by Indirect Purchasers; Confirms Low Evidentiary Threshold for Certification

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

On October 31, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court”) released its decisions in Pro Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Microsoft Corporation (“Pro-Sys”), Sun Rype Products Ltd. v. Archer Daniels Midland Company (“Sun-Rype”), and Infineon Technologies...

OGX Insolvency – What Distressed Investors Need to Know About Brazilian Bankruptcy Process

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

On October 30, 2013, Brazilian oil company OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA (OGX) filed for bankruptcy protection (or “judicial reorganization”) in Rio de Janeiro after restructuring discussions between the company and its major creditors ended...

Grading Distinctive Vodka Bottle Trademarks

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

Last week, Works Design Group highlighted five vodka bottle designs to love. No doubt, a nice collection of very creative work. This stacked ice cube design is my favorite from their set......

Deadlocked But Not Out Of Options

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

While not prohibited by the General Corporation Law, a board comprised of an even number of directors suffers from one potential disability. It can become deadlocked. When that unfortunate situation arises, there are options....

Eighth Circuit Adopts Novel False Claims Act Fraud-in-the-Inducement Theory Long Espoused by Government

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

On October 15, 2013, a divided three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rendered a federal False Claims Act ("FCA") judgment against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals ("Bayer"), based on a qui tam relator's...

Liability Insurance and a Plan Review are warranties worth paying for

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

The warranty in the electronics business is gravy for the retailers who sell it. You’ll be surprised how many people pay $20 to get a warranty on a $100 Blu-Ray player. When Best Buy was going national, they advertised how they wouldn’t sell...

Courthouses brace for 11/12/13 weddings

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

Courthouses are readying for an onslaught of couples looking to get married on 11/12/13. In Kane County outside of Chicago, judges are performing weddings for walk-ins this afternoon, though weddings are usually by appointment on Tuesdays, the Daily Herald reports.

Larry Flynt joins with ACLU to fight execution of serial killer who shot and paralyzed him

By EsqSocial Corporation 12/11/13

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt has spent decades in a wheelchair since being shot on March 6, 1978 as he stood on the steps of a Georgia courthouse in which he was facing an obscenity prosecution.

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